1973 Swedish Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Denny Hulme denied Ronnie Peterson a home victory with a late pass in the first championship Swedish Grand Prix. Peterson had led almost throughout at the Scandinavian Raceway, but fading tyres left him unable to resist the McLaren. François Cevert finished third.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Pole time	1:23.810
Fastest lap	Denny Hulme	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:26.146 on lap 7
First	Denny Hulme	McLaren
Second	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Third	François Cevert	Tyrrell

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
15 June 1973	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
15 June 1973	Friday afternoon timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
16 June 1973	Saturday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
16 June 1973	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
17 June 1973	Warm-up	09:00
17 June 1973	Race	13:30

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Emerson Fittipaldi arrived at round 7 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 41 points, with Jackie Stewart on 37. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 45 points.

Race entries

Several cars were absent after Monaco, including Merzario’s Ferrari, Amon’s Tecno and de Adamich’s Brabham. Galli had stepped away from racing, and Belsø briefly drove the second Williams without taking a race start. Wisell hired Purley’s March for his home event. The circuit’s unusual layout placed the pits away from the start and finish line.

Friday morning timed practice

Cevert set the early pace, closely followed by Peterson. Shadow endured a difficult start: Oliver’s engine failed before he had left the pit lane, and Follmer crashed his new car. Wilson Fittipaldi also suffered an engine failure almost immediately. Several teams faced substantial repairs while Tyrrell and Lotus established their challenge at the front.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Peterson went quickest in his race Lotus and also produced a strong lap in the spare, taking control of qualifying. Cevert improved in Tyrrell’s experimental car, while Reutemann kept Brabham in the leading group. Oliver and Wilson Fittipaldi returned with replacement engines, but Jarier and Revson lost running to gearbox failures. Follmer had another excursion into the sand.

Saturday morning timed practice

The increasingly slippery surface made gains difficult. Pace damaged his Surtees after a rear-wheel failure, Regazzoni lost an engine and Beuttler hit the barriers. Fittipaldi suffered a rear-hub-carrier failure in the spare Lotus. Cevert and Stewart nevertheless improved in the conventional Tyrrells, while Belsø sampled the spare Williams.

Saturday final qualifying

Stewart briefly tried the experimental Tyrrell before returning to his usual car. Lotus had further alarms when Fittipaldi’s temporary rear-end repair failed and Peterson stopped with insufficient fuel. Ganley spun into the sand, requiring extensive cleaning and an engine change. Peterson retained pole narrowly ahead of Cevert, with Stewart and Fittipaldi on the second row.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:23.810
2	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:23.899
3	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:23.912
4	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:24.084
5	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:24.489
6	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:24.625
7	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:24.937
8	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:25.604
9	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:25.738
10	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:25.776
11	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	1:25.800
12	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:25.995
13	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:26.127
14	27	Reine Wisell	March	1:26.187
15	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:26.211
16	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:26.255
17	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	1:26.305
18	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	1:26.382
19	16	George Follmer	Shadow	1:26.632
20	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:26.874
21	15	Mike Beuttler	March	1:28.580
22	26	Tom Belsø	Iso-Marlboro	1:28.972

Sunday warm-up

Ganley crashed after his throttles stuck open, forcing Williams to prepare the other car. Fittipaldi developed an oil leak from the rear engine seal, requiring the Lotus’s transmission to be removed for repairs. Later, Wisell suffered a suspension-mounting failure on the pre-race lap and could not start.

What happened in the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix?

A dispute over photographers’ positions delayed the start. Peterson then led Fittipaldi, with the Tyrrells behind. Stewart passed Cevert and pursued the Lotuses, while Hulme moved past Reutemann and steadily brought his harder tyres into play as the race progressed.

Lotus appeared set for a one-two until Fittipaldi’s gearbox failed. Hulme passed Cevert and then Stewart, whose Tyrrell developed rear-brake trouble. Peterson’s worn tyres left him increasingly vulnerable, and Hulme caught and passed the home favourite on the penultimate lap.

Hulme took his first victory of the season and the M23’s first championship win. Peterson finished second, four seconds behind, with Cevert third. Reutemann, Stewart and Ickx completed the points. The result was a painful near-miss for Peterson and his supporters, but a reward for Hulme’s measured approach to the 80-lap race.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 41 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 39. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 49, with Lotus – Ford on 47.

1973 Swedish Grand Prix race results

The 1973 Swedish Grand Prix was held on 17 June 1973, with a scheduled start of 13:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	80	1:56:46.049	9
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	80	+ 4.039	6
3	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	80	+ 14.667	4
4	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	80	+ 18.068	3
5	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	80	+ 25.998	2
6	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	79	+ 1 Lap	1
7	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	79	+ 1 Lap	0
8	15	Mike Beuttler	March	77	+ 2 Laps	0
9	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	77	+ 3 Laps	0
10	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	77	+ 3 Laps	0
11	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	76	+ 3 Laps	0
12	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	76	Gearbox	0
13	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	75	+ 5 Laps	0
14	16	George Follmer	Shadow	74	+ 6 Laps	0
Ret	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	57	Engine	0
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	50	Suspension	0
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	41	Tyre	0
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	36	Throttle	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	16	Ignition	0
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	0	Accident	0
DNS	27	Reine Wisell	March		Suspension	0
DNS	26	Tom Belsø	Iso-Marlboro		Car Raced by Ganley	0

1973 Swedish Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	7	1:26.146

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1973 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	41
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	39
3	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	25
4	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	19
5	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	11
6	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	10
7	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	6
8	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	6
9	George Follmer	American	Shadow	5
10	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees / Brabham	3
11	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	3
12	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	2
13	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	2
14	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	1
15	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	1
16	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Tecno	1
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Graham Hill	British	Shadow	0
–	Jody Scheckter	South African	McLaren	0
–	James Hunt	British	March	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
–	Luiz Bueno	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Eddie Keizan	South African	Tyrrell	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	David Purley	British	March	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	March	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	49
2	Lotus – Ford	47
3	McLaren – Ford	26
4	Ferrari	10
5	Brabham – Ford	7
6	Shadow – Ford	5
7	BRM	5
8	Tecno	1
—	March – Ford	0
—	Iso-Marlboro – Ford	0
—	Surtees – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 7 results from rounds 1–8 and their best 6 from rounds 9–15. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1973 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1973 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	28 January
2	1973 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo	11 February
3	1973 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	3 March
4	1973 Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc, Barcelona	29 April
5	1973 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	20 May
6	1973 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	3 June
7	1973 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	17 June
8	1973 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	1 July
9	1973 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	14 July
10	1973 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	29 July
11	1973 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	5 August
12	1973 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	19 August
13	1973 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	1973 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	23 September
15	1973 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	7 October